Re-House Your Xperia Play : Things to Know

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216Monster

Senior Member
Oct 17, 2011
1,233
363
Ohio
This is going to be basically a review, not a tutorial, of what I experienced after I re housed my R800x in white and the steps I went through to get it done, I have no prior knowledge on the process, I simple "went for it" and had success.

~~ Please Note: Performing this can seriously damage your phone and if done wrong will possibly permanently destroy your device, please read everything and do everything slowly, Please understand you may attempt this at your own risk, you have been warned! ~~

For a good understanding on how to tear your Play apart and not break anything check this video out, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3n5ZfkqhzE

You can find the White Housing I purchased in these 2 links

The outside of the screen (digitizer) as seen in First photo
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Touch-Scree...&otn=2&po=LVI&ps=63&clkid=7007674525043897251

The White Housing Top , Middle plate, Control pad plate and Back as seen in the Second and Third photos
(I have seen a cheaper one since I bought mine, but this is the one I bought)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/FULL-Housin...500747?pt=PDA_Accessories&hash=item27bf9d978b

This link is another R800x thats branded Verizon but I doubt it having the service ribbon sticker (for lack of better words which comes into play later) because they dont show a back view of the Middle plate
http://cnn.cn/shop/sony-ericsson-xperia-play-cdma-black-housing-verizon-branded-p-12588.html

After getting your parts and watching the video you should be where I was at in Photo Four, my phone torn down and the new pieces ready to make this r800x look great.

Photos Five and Six -are close ups reviewing it all.

Photo Seven - is where I started, the touch joy stick pcb ribbon. It was kinda scary thinking if i rip this thing or pull to much that the touch pads wouldnt work anymore, and thanks to ShadowGun :D I was able to verify they still did. I used the blue tool for prying the phone , to help peal back the ribbon as you see it, you can give it a decent pull with your fingers as you get enough pealed up, try to pull as close to the glued end as possible so you dont risk tearing or something.

Photos Eight and Nine - I had finished moving the touch pad ribbon to the new white control pad plate and started removing the Menu, Start and Select buttons and transferring them to the white plate. Using the blue tool again sorta scrap up the backing to each of the; Menu and Start and Select buttons, it helps to push from the other side on the button a little. You need to try and not to deform the sticker/glue piece that holds the buttons in place or it might Not stick to good on the new plate, a sweat gripping moment that I first thought would just never work but patience does pay off in this step.

Photo Ten - it was all done, that piece at least.

From there I moved onto the the Middle Plate, which required a few steps if you decide you want to swap these out. One in particular that left me clueless for a few days without service, bare with me on this part..

There is a black Antenna sticker on the Bottom half of the Middle plate on your R800X, which has a gold ribbon on its opposite side that finishes a circuit, without this circuit completed your phone will Not have service and dialing *228 will not work your phone will tell you, in a mans voice "The code you have entered is in-correct please check you code and try again" - The first time I heard that I was thinking hmm thats probably not good and Verizon told me "thats not programmed in our system, you should Never get a msg like that or a mans voice" So I had them send me a replacement ( Of course I didnt mention this was all my fault and I re housed it, and thats the real reason I wouldnt go to the store to have it checked out, but that shouldnt matter right ;) )
Upon getting the replacement phone I, for somehow the first time, Noticed the black sticker antenna on the back of the Middle plate. I grabbed my original housing and noticed the sticker antenna on it as well, so I pealed that off and revealed, to me which was previously unseen, this gold ribbon connects a circuit with two terminals on the phones mother board. The gold ribbons two ends slide into a slot on the Middle plate, underneath it to make the connection. I replaced this black sticker onto the new White Middle plate because the back of the L1 and R1 triggers are White and they are Black on the original Vz housing.

Photo Eleven-Shows the back of the New white trigger Middle plate, no black sticker antenna
Photo Twelve-The Middle plate from the Verizon replacement

Photos Antenna 2 and Antenna 3-These are the other 2 antennas also needed for service, be sure to pull those off and place them onto the new middle housing of your new phone.

For the r800i and r800a they have another antenna on the middle plate (I just dont have a photo :crying: I have an r800x) I can tell you at least that if your holding the middle housing and the Antenna 2 is on your right, the r800i/r800a other antenna will be on the left side of the housing.

Photo Thirteen- I wanted the White triggers so I super glued the black sticker antenna back on, worked out pretty good if you ask me, minus my thumb print of course. .

Photo Fourteen- I circled the inside area of the Middle plate where the you can see the opposite side of the gold ribbon that makes the connection with the mother board of the phone in the top half and you can see its not on the New Middle plate in the bottom half of the photo.

If you decide to go ahead and swap the Middle plate, you will need to remove the speakers as well and I cracked my original plate removing the left speaker, they are in there pretty tight, I basically pryed up on them in anyway that I wasn't destroying any part of them. As seen in Photo Fourteen

In Photo Fifteen I was now ready to replace the Top half of the phone and put the new Digitizer on. You wont need any extra glue here, the New White Half of the housing comes with a clear plastic film on it (sorry I had already removed before I took the photo) that was protecting some glue, thats seems to be holding up pretty good a week later and I dont think it will ever come off. Once you have replace you new Digitizer on the new Top half of the White housing, you are ready to reverse the steps seen in the Video linked at the beginning , once you have completed that you will be enjoying your newly housed in luxurious White and Silver Xperia Play as I am in the Final Photos.

I hope this helps, this was the first time I tore a phone apart physically and might have my "names of pieces" wrong but I tried to explain it in a way that makes sense and simple to look at. I do wanna make a video or something because I think anyone looking to do this would benefit more from a better "visual tutorial" but I dont have much time as id like to and this should serve good.

I hope in anyone who decides to go through with this, and enjoys having a white Xperia Play like I have
 
Last edited:

sufy1000

Senior Member
Oct 22, 2011
1,430
187
34
I bought my Xperia Play in white so this doesn't apply to me. But you did a great job there ! looks brand new !
 

216Monster

Senior Member
Oct 17, 2011
1,233
363
Ohio
That looks awesome!!! Mind taking a couple photos of the screen and with it powered on to see how good this after market screen is? Awesome job and the white looks nice and clean.

I can definitelty take a few photos, I only replaced the outside of the screen, the actual lcd is the same from when I got the phone, the after market digitizer is just as clear an still allows the screen to keep its nice crisp image, Ill take a few photos later on though and update OP.





I bought my Xperia Play in white so this doesn't apply to me. But you did a great job there ! looks brand new !

Thank you! I wish Verizon had offered it in white but figures they didn't, I makes it all that much more mine now though.. custom rom , kernel, and now housing I like it so much more.
 

Rogue Leader

Senior Member
Apr 4, 2011
1,087
166
New York
Thats sweet nice write up. I'll probably do mine later this year or next year after the case and screen gets worn down and scratched up a bit more.
 
A

AloushA

Guest
Thanks for this,
Would you reccomend cheap cases as I have seen diffrent colours (blue,orange) which I wouldn't mind trying.

Thanks
 

janitory

Member
Aug 27, 2011
17
17
Thank you, good sir!
I really appreciate your work here and I'll use this guide as soon as my housing arrives.
 

216Monster

Senior Member
Oct 17, 2011
1,233
363
Ohio
I will be doing this very same project in a few days. What is the use of the black sticker? If i break it will my Play still work? Please reply

The black sticker completes a circuit that is needed for service. Idk exactly what circuit it completes but the sticker has a gold pcb type ribbon on it that makes contact with two pins on the motherboard. Without the black sticker in place your phone will boot with no service. I didn't find out until after the fact and if you look in my photo where I glued the sticker back on you can see its a little mangled but glued it down flat and my service is just as good as it always was . Well as good as 3g can be lol .. But to answer your last question as long as you pull the sticker off slowly and don't rip it you should be fine. The gold ribbon on the bottom half just can't be torn in half or the circuit won't complete. But it peeled off without tearing for me, just take your time and you should be good to go.

Sent from my R800x using xda premium
 
Last edited:

shakalek

Member
Nov 18, 2010
28
2
Great job mate!

How would You describe the operation difficulty from 1/10?

Ps. I have experience with w995 full rehousing and some others mobiles.
 

0mega007

Senior Member
Dec 28, 2011
563
37
Hi, i wish to know what is beneath this 2 black square stickers marked in red circles, and what is their function.





Thanks
 

ioo7

Senior Member
Dec 29, 2011
200
36
Winnetka, CA
Great job, will keep this in mind, white looks so good, version didn't have that option:(

Sent from my little GIZMO ``\[©_o],,
 
D

DennisDroid

Guest
I have the black one Xperia Play but i bought me the White Cover by amazon for 34,99€ (Complete and Original) But i dont think that i can do this without brick my phone :(((
 

216Monster

Senior Member
Oct 17, 2011
1,233
363
Ohio
Great job mate!

How would You describe the operation difficulty from 1/10?

Ps. I have experience with w995 full rehousing and some others mobiles.

I dont think Im best to give you a good 1/10 rating, this is the only re-house Ive done, it wasn't to bad I suppose though. I think if you have some experience with the process then you shouldn't have to much trouble

Great job, will keep this in mind, white looks so good, version didn't have that option:(

Sent from my little GIZMO ``\[©_o],,

I agree, Verizon should've offered the option, but their to busy releasing phones that they dont plan to update...

I have the black one Xperia Play but i bought me the White Cover by amazon for 34,99€ (Complete and Original) But i dont think that i can do this without brick my phone :(((

If you want to add me on gtalk I can help you if you decide to go through with it, I dont think you will brick it though :)

Is there a screw begind the stikers, holdding the l and r buttons hardware?

The sticker is covering up the actual buttons on the phones mother board that are L1 and R1 triggers. The L and R triggers are connected with metal rod, wound up with a small spring.

us there only black / white available?

Sent from my cm_tenderloin using XDA

Ive seen orange XPlays but I didnt see any housing's in other colors then white and black, but I only did a search for White specifically though.
 
Last edited:

mehdi.moha

Senior Member
Dec 21, 2010
1,925
251
Vaxjo
veeery nice man :)
i've changed my digitizer 2 times , on first time , i've broke my digitizer and on second time i succeed
 

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  • 18
    This is going to be basically a review, not a tutorial, of what I experienced after I re housed my R800x in white and the steps I went through to get it done, I have no prior knowledge on the process, I simple "went for it" and had success.

    ~~ Please Note: Performing this can seriously damage your phone and if done wrong will possibly permanently destroy your device, please read everything and do everything slowly, Please understand you may attempt this at your own risk, you have been warned! ~~

    For a good understanding on how to tear your Play apart and not break anything check this video out, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3n5ZfkqhzE

    You can find the White Housing I purchased in these 2 links

    The outside of the screen (digitizer) as seen in First photo
    http://www.ebay.com/itm/Touch-Scree...&otn=2&po=LVI&ps=63&clkid=7007674525043897251

    The White Housing Top , Middle plate, Control pad plate and Back as seen in the Second and Third photos
    (I have seen a cheaper one since I bought mine, but this is the one I bought)
    http://www.ebay.com/itm/FULL-Housin...500747?pt=PDA_Accessories&hash=item27bf9d978b

    This link is another R800x thats branded Verizon but I doubt it having the service ribbon sticker (for lack of better words which comes into play later) because they dont show a back view of the Middle plate
    http://cnn.cn/shop/sony-ericsson-xperia-play-cdma-black-housing-verizon-branded-p-12588.html

    After getting your parts and watching the video you should be where I was at in Photo Four, my phone torn down and the new pieces ready to make this r800x look great.

    Photos Five and Six -are close ups reviewing it all.

    Photo Seven - is where I started, the touch joy stick pcb ribbon. It was kinda scary thinking if i rip this thing or pull to much that the touch pads wouldnt work anymore, and thanks to ShadowGun :D I was able to verify they still did. I used the blue tool for prying the phone , to help peal back the ribbon as you see it, you can give it a decent pull with your fingers as you get enough pealed up, try to pull as close to the glued end as possible so you dont risk tearing or something.

    Photos Eight and Nine - I had finished moving the touch pad ribbon to the new white control pad plate and started removing the Menu, Start and Select buttons and transferring them to the white plate. Using the blue tool again sorta scrap up the backing to each of the; Menu and Start and Select buttons, it helps to push from the other side on the button a little. You need to try and not to deform the sticker/glue piece that holds the buttons in place or it might Not stick to good on the new plate, a sweat gripping moment that I first thought would just never work but patience does pay off in this step.

    Photo Ten - it was all done, that piece at least.

    From there I moved onto the the Middle Plate, which required a few steps if you decide you want to swap these out. One in particular that left me clueless for a few days without service, bare with me on this part..

    There is a black Antenna sticker on the Bottom half of the Middle plate on your R800X, which has a gold ribbon on its opposite side that finishes a circuit, without this circuit completed your phone will Not have service and dialing *228 will not work your phone will tell you, in a mans voice "The code you have entered is in-correct please check you code and try again" - The first time I heard that I was thinking hmm thats probably not good and Verizon told me "thats not programmed in our system, you should Never get a msg like that or a mans voice" So I had them send me a replacement ( Of course I didnt mention this was all my fault and I re housed it, and thats the real reason I wouldnt go to the store to have it checked out, but that shouldnt matter right ;) )
    Upon getting the replacement phone I, for somehow the first time, Noticed the black sticker antenna on the back of the Middle plate. I grabbed my original housing and noticed the sticker antenna on it as well, so I pealed that off and revealed, to me which was previously unseen, this gold ribbon connects a circuit with two terminals on the phones mother board. The gold ribbons two ends slide into a slot on the Middle plate, underneath it to make the connection. I replaced this black sticker onto the new White Middle plate because the back of the L1 and R1 triggers are White and they are Black on the original Vz housing.

    Photo Eleven-Shows the back of the New white trigger Middle plate, no black sticker antenna
    Photo Twelve-The Middle plate from the Verizon replacement

    Photos Antenna 2 and Antenna 3-These are the other 2 antennas also needed for service, be sure to pull those off and place them onto the new middle housing of your new phone.

    For the r800i and r800a they have another antenna on the middle plate (I just dont have a photo :crying: I have an r800x) I can tell you at least that if your holding the middle housing and the Antenna 2 is on your right, the r800i/r800a other antenna will be on the left side of the housing.

    Photo Thirteen- I wanted the White triggers so I super glued the black sticker antenna back on, worked out pretty good if you ask me, minus my thumb print of course. .

    Photo Fourteen- I circled the inside area of the Middle plate where the you can see the opposite side of the gold ribbon that makes the connection with the mother board of the phone in the top half and you can see its not on the New Middle plate in the bottom half of the photo.

    If you decide to go ahead and swap the Middle plate, you will need to remove the speakers as well and I cracked my original plate removing the left speaker, they are in there pretty tight, I basically pryed up on them in anyway that I wasn't destroying any part of them. As seen in Photo Fourteen

    In Photo Fifteen I was now ready to replace the Top half of the phone and put the new Digitizer on. You wont need any extra glue here, the New White Half of the housing comes with a clear plastic film on it (sorry I had already removed before I took the photo) that was protecting some glue, thats seems to be holding up pretty good a week later and I dont think it will ever come off. Once you have replace you new Digitizer on the new Top half of the White housing, you are ready to reverse the steps seen in the Video linked at the beginning , once you have completed that you will be enjoying your newly housed in luxurious White and Silver Xperia Play as I am in the Final Photos.

    I hope this helps, this was the first time I tore a phone apart physically and might have my "names of pieces" wrong but I tried to explain it in a way that makes sense and simple to look at. I do wanna make a video or something because I think anyone looking to do this would benefit more from a better "visual tutorial" but I dont have much time as id like to and this should serve good.

    I hope in anyone who decides to go through with this, and enjoys having a white Xperia Play like I have
    5
    I would like to fill everyone in on more details of this because I went ahead and begged my mom to buy me the white one since my old one was ruined by my dog.

    I found out that there are more antennas to replace than he is showing you

    The Xperia play actually has 3 antennas

    The largest one he shows in his picture here.
    eYJ3t.png


    This is the antenna for the CDMA / GSM service.

    without it you will see weird errors like roaming (because you can't get a signal)

    You can make a new / stronger one out of aluminum foil but I'll explain how to do that later.

    The second antenna is a piece of brass wire that is sitting above the rocker buttons I'll show you it here.

    bb3Nx.png


    My theory is that this is the WiFi antenna because without the rod and the 3rd antenna I wasn't picking up ANY wireless signals at ALL. NONE.
    not even my house router that is 20 feet away.

    Now onto the last antenna that he never even saw I guess.
    kd0MZ.png


    This one might be the Bluetooth OR another component to the CDMA / GSM antenna array. either way you need this in there

    It peels up very easily just remove it and replace into the new shell.

    Hope this information helps you guys.

    ---------- Post added at 06:50 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:40 AM ----------

    Oh and here is the end result
    P6mFz.jpg
    3
    hey dude could you tell me how to reassemble the touch digitizer?? do we need adhesive??

    The digitizer I purchased came with adhesive on the back already , it was protected by a non stick label (like a stamp) and it holds up very well. You will not need any adhesive if you buy from the same vendor I chose.


    Your most welcome :D

    can someone make a complete Video from rehousing the xperia play? i'm really interestet in the Process. My case has some little damages and the Digitizer a splitt

    I may very well do that, I need to build my nephew an xperia play (for gaming only of course, hes way to young for using a phone) and I need to re house it for him. When I sit down to do the re house I will record it.
    1
    Are there multiple colors of housings available? I'd love to have a purple play ;D
    1
    whew just whet through 14 pages of this thead! paranoid me strikes again. it looks kinda easy but im still slightly worried. gonna try rehousing my play this summer. i know you're probably tired of people posting on a dead thread, but i just wanted to thank you for the detailed break down. i bought an orange housing, if anyone's interested, here is the link. will post screetshots this summer hopefully. thanks again.


    http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Replacement-Orange-Housing-Cover-Case-for-Sony-Ericsson-Xperia-Play-R800-Z1i/290910801016?_trksid=p2045573.m2042&_trkparms=aid%3D111000%26algo%3DREC.CURRENT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D27%26meid%3D7445912472441885120%26pid%3D100033%26prg%3D1011%26rk%3D1%26sd%3D290910801016%26 (only 13 days left)

    Not at all ! I love to this that this is still helping people, If you attempt it and have any questions please feel free to post here or pm me! I just rehoused mine and built an Orange one for a co-worker (he is a first time Play owner!) .. I have so many pieces for this phone..

    Again, your welcome!